


happy

by tokugawa



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, just some gárbage i wrote, read this as sasunaru or brotherly love id
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 00:22:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20416797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokugawa/pseuds/tokugawa





	happy

_You were happy once. You will be happy again._

The sound of his footsteps pounded throughout the Uchiha home as he raced down the stairway, just nearly catching grip of the handrail before tumbling to the floor. The distinct smell of omelets wafted in the air, and his small five year old hands pushed through the door to the bustling kitchen, making way for the spot nearest beloved elder brother, Itachi.

“Be careful, Sasuke,” his mother’s voice called out, soft like silk but none softer than her hands as they touched his cheeks, holding him close for a kiss on the forehead. “Good morning, my dear.”

This was when he was at his happiest. Five years old and new to the world. His small fingers danced lightly across the table, touching all the food within reach, enjoying all the sights, smells, and tastes of a nice morning with his parents. And of course, Itachi was right there— his face beaming down on the little brother he loved so dearly. They fell into a messy hug, and his father laughed, and the familiar sounds of birds chirping and cicadas crying mingled together with the chuckles of the entire family.

Happiness like this was rare and was as brief as the summer light. It came in waves but when it left, he was told, it would come again.

When darkness came, and there was nothing but winter, he remembered... 

_You were happy once. You will be happy again._

It was a brief moment, but it was there. Laughter from the young blond, who’d spent most of his hours on the swing set— a loneliness Sasuke now wore on his heart, hidden under the layers of malcontent and bitterness. He saw himself in those wild blue eyes, staring back at him with a feistiness that Sasuke’s heart rivaled.

“I’ll beat you there. I run way faster than you do! That’s why I’ll be a better ninja!”

“I have no interest in your stupid games,” he responded, his voice firm but his heart pining for the connection Naruto would later give him. If only he had the courage to say yes, to let someone in, but his fear of loss and his resentfulness of being left behind by a village sworn to protect him often overpowered.

Still, the offer, the giggle, the look of passion ripe on such a small face left him feeling a happiness for a moment that he thought had long since died.

He remembered...

_You were happy once. You will be happy again_.

It came in the form of words this time. 

“I won’t let you go, Sasuke, I won’t let you leave—“

It was a mere sentence, but the heartbreak behind every syllable was more than evident. It oozed from Naruto’s lips and from his grip onto Sasuke’s arm and his pull as he tried to get his friend to reconsider his actions. Of course, it was too late, and nothing could be done to change his mind, but the sincerity in someone wanting him to stay was something akin to compassion, perhaps, though he could never be sure. The only compassion he’d felt in his short life was that of his family, long since dead, and his brother who betrayed him shortly thereafter. This languished but fleeting feeling of being wanted— no, **_needed_**— was so short-lived, but it was there, and he wanted to turn around and be happy with a person who felt every bit as deeply as he.

Still, there was one thing that would make him happier. One thing that would elevate his pain and make that feeling of elation permanent.

He remembered...

_You were happy once. You will be happy again._

It came in a moment when Itachi’s voice filtered through the grey in his heart. “Maybe next time,” was so whispered, it was barely audible, but he heard it, and he had frozen. And in that moment, he wondered just what he’d been fighting for all this time, if not for the passing gaiety of all his anger finally being lifted.

The body of his brother collapsed to his feet, but the sensation of malice that had long been tearing the two apart was gone, and in its wake was... happiness. Love, almost.

It was the first time in all these years that he felt wanted. He was touched on the head like he was a child again, greeted by the symphonies of laughter of his family. It was the simplest gesture, but one of the only sensations he knew that was comparable to love, and comfort, and happiness. It was all he had to compare to— a normal life he had before that he was almost too young to remember.

But it was happiness.

He knew, once again...

_You were happy once. You will be happy again._

He felt it in his heart for a moment, saw it in the loose, flimsy grin of Naruto as they were met together after the war had ended. This was the man who would have stopped the world to bear the burdens of his pain. He would have buried his skeletons in a garden to grow flowers through their bones. And that was beautiful. And it was happy.

They fell synonymously into the flowerbeds, their hands floating closely to each other’s for one touch, but neither would give just yet. Their hearts filtered beats in pace with one other, and the tranquility that washed over them after years of suffering and hardship cleansed them of their troubles.

Sasuke’s face lifted towards the sun and for a moment, he was so blinded by the light that seeped off Naruto’s very being that the yellow orb in the sky was incomparable to how this man made him feel— like he was overpowered by promise and by kinship, and that he was looking at the stars themselves.

His hand wandered further, brushing soft skin that held him close during his darkest moments, and he collided like galaxies in orbit into strong arms that kept him safe. Their laughter mingled, and their smiles were unfading, and he remembered that thing said to him once when he was a child that he recognized it as true. All these moments of happiness were sprinkled throughout his life, sometimes long while others as brief as a heartbeat. 

True, he had been happy.

And, he will be happy again.

But right now, he was more than that. He was in a state of peace, taken by the sunlight of the face that stared back at him, held in an embrace that fought the fires of pain in his very being.


End file.
